Drax

Thanks for the heads up, appreciate it. Sadly I was contacted by three different agencies about the same role and Teksystems were first so I went with them, I'll try one of the other guys now.

Thanks to everyone who's posted here, I've had my eyes opened to a couple of things, cheers folks.

So there's nothing like umbrella companies, bummer. The only real advantage to going self-incorporated is for tax reasons, that's probably not my wisest course as a newly landed PR, unless I've missed something ?

Are the rates for contractors really so low that being permie is probably better ? (once you factor in benefits etc)

Thanks also for giving me the names of a couple of agencies. Are there any contractor specific job sites and forums ? I've found monster.ca , workopolis and bctechnology.com . Are there any others that folks'd recommend ?

dbd33

You've missed that agencies will be reluctant to use you, we absolutely would not, unless you are incorporated.

Steve_

How do you mean you don't pay income tax? Because of your expenses? I don't pay any corporation income tax because my salary is an expense.

But anyway I definitely save heaps by living in Alberta (well compared to the UK), even compared to the US I do.

Which is not to say that Alberta is necessarily a low tax jurisdiction, that is the way it is portrayed but it is not actually true. In Alberta we have this crazy flat tax, which basically means if you earn over about $75k you pay less income tax than you would in BC but it you earn less than that you pay more, so there is constant pressure to raise the minimum wage, which is even lower than it is in BC.

And they wonder why we have a labour shortage.

But we don't have HST, that helps.

Tigger1

My boyfriend found Craigslist really good (he's a developer) also Indeed & Eluta as they will mine for jobs from companies websites. A lot of recruiters use LinkedIn for contractor jobs both agencies and employers. There's a group called Vancouver IT Contractors that might be useful (I posted there a lot and would get a good response)

cedarsguardian

On the Insurance side of things at the moment car insurance quotes are going through the roof in the UK.

My old 18 year golf is close to £450 a year, and my newer 10 year old sharan is over £750. Car insurance almost double in the last 4 years or so. (Full comp).

dbd33

£450! My heart bleeds for ya.

cedarsguardian

Considering that I used to pay half of what I am paying now, i think your heart should

If you are comparing the $7000 to what I am paying I would say that $7000 for car insurance is ridiculously high, I have only heard of such figures in Canada for young or new drivers. Get your no claim bonus letters from the UK and you are sorted.

Also what you will get back in personal compensation in Canada if you have an accident is a lot more. (I know of two cases one the compensation was $500,000 - Caused back Injury, and the other was $50,000 - no injuries whatsoever) So yes I expect car insurance to be a bit higher than in the UK.

I had a non fault accident many years ago and they barely agreed to pay for fixing the car. I had my 6 months old baby girl in the car... no one even considered personal compensation, and at best it would not exceed couple of thousand pounds.

Apologies for digressing from OP's topic.

Will this site help:
http://www.payscale.com

dbd33

The idea that car insurance companies in Canada are generous in settling claims is about as rose tinted a view as I've yet seen on this site. Note that many of the companies, Zurich, RSA, are the same companies as operate in the UK, they're not kinder or gentler for being here.

Still, well organized contractors can write off their insurance premiums so it's not as bad for them as for working people.

Almost Canadian

Nonsense. The maximum amount payable for "general damages" (damages for injuries) is far less in Canada than England. Further, loss of future earnings in Canada are far less than in England. Here it is grouped "under loss of capacity" with the most possible significantly less than most people would be entitled to for 5 years loss of earnings using the multiplier/multiplicand formula in England.

In addition, you will likely find that Provincial legislation means that there is no "Canadian" personal injury damages. Have a whiplash injury in Alberta and, unless your injuries last for more than 2 years, your damages will be limited to approximately $4,500 (I don't have the exact figures to hand).

cedarsguardian

I do not know why you think it is nosense.

Those are two cases of two close relatives of mine in Ontario, I also know of a third case where driver went through red lights and caused a serious accident, her compensation was close to $40-$50k (do not have exact figure).

The two 50k cases were for two female home makers.

If you are working you do get a lot more for loss of earnings. The $500K was due to loss of earnings... it was not straight forward and it took several years to settle and solicitors were involved.

Atlantic Xpat

Really? Who'dve thought.

cedarsguardian

Can you imagine?

Yes private solicitors and for a hefty fee as well and not the insurers legal team...

And just to satisfy the cynics around:

Apparently in Ontario You can sue for pain and suffering and for economic loss but there are conditions. so it varies between provinces. (E.g. Quebec you can not).

dbd33

If I may, you would be well advised to stop digging.

cedarsguardian

As I said earlier I know of two cases of close relatives, and of a third case.

No digging on my part what so ever.

I do not really need to provide any more personal information on the matter just to satisfy some.

Thanks for your advice.

Almost Canadian

I am a lawyer in Alberta and was a solicitor in England. I used to act for Plaintiffs and Defendants (insurers) in England and have acted for Plaintiffs in Alberta.

And? I can give you numerous examples of people receiving more and less than these figures on both sides of the Atlantic. Each claim is fact dependant. Extrapolating what happened in a few claims does not enable you to justify what you stated above.

The loss of capacity provisions (i.e., loss for future earnings) that were set by the Supreme Court of Canada (and and therefore binding upon all of the common law jurisdictions in Canada - likely Quebec too, but I could be wrong about this) do not enable anyone in Ontario to recover $500,000 for future loss of earnings. Damages for loss of past earnings are calculated in a similar fashion either side of the Atlantic.

Another huge difference is that, in Canada, the lawyer will take a specific proportion of your damages as payment. That was not permitted when I practised in England and, usually, the defendant's insurers paid your solicitor's fees. In Canada is it usually a third. Quite a deduction.